Please feel free to keep asking the questions, and I’ll start answering them with this first set…
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Stop the Puck asked: Rich would it be possible to get a full-blown injury report around the time of the olympics? And also do you think Quick has passed Thomas as USAs #2?
Answers: 1) Yes, actually I think that post-Olympic time would probably be appropriate to update those long-term injuries. I know there’s a lot of eagerness out there about Williams, Loktionov and Hickey, in paticular, but please remember that they have VERY long-term injuries. In each case, you’re probably looking at late March/early April, and we’ve just barely passed into February. At this point, there’s not much to say until doctors allow them to do more. There’s still a good chance that all three of those guys will be shut down for the season. 2) It’s hard for me to say but, wow, based on what I’ve seen of Quick, and the two recent games I saw from Thomas, I’d go with Quick. That’s just me, though.
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R.E.M. Murray asked: Do you know if there is anything more to Atlanta GM Waddell attending the LA-NJ game last night?
Answer: Anything more to it? As in? Don sat in his seat on press row, next to Dave Taylor, coincidentally enough. Dean Lombardi sat in his booth with other Kings management folks. I’m not sure what else there is to say, frankly. Waddell being at that game, very likely, did little if anything to further any Kovalchuk talk. GMs can talk on cell phones any day of the week, and scouting staffs are so strong that it’s doubtful there was any wisdom gained.
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R.E.M. Murray asked: Is it just me or is there a common feeling out there that the Kings may hit the wall Tuesday night after such a successful road trip?
Answer: That’s a real concern. Not so much that they would “hit the wall,” but that they might ease up, coming home after that long road trip. It’s hard to play on the road, but in some ways it’s easier to have that tough mindset. It’s cold outside, the fans are against you, etc., and it’s easier to pull together. Terry Murray has said it…the Kings need to bring that “road mentality” to home games.
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Carol Vadnais asked: I’m wondering if we will see Bernier this season. I realize that they want him to have playoff experience in the minors, but is that really more beneficial than playoff-run experience this season?
Answer: There’s no perfect answer to that question. The goal, from the start, has been to have Bernier play a full season in the AHL, thrive, lead his team to the playoffs and have an extended playoff run. So far, that’s exactly what he’s doing. The goal, in the NHL, was to have Jonathan Quick play a full complement as the unquestioned No. 1 goalie. So far, for the most part, that’s exactly what he has done. I don’t see a reason to deviate from that simply because Quick has played a lot of games. Brodeur is 37 years old and he’s going to play close to 80 games, plus Olympics! I don’t think it’s worth changing the plan simply to get Bernier two or three games down the stretch.
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3bcrown asked: Really weird question about team chemistry since it’s been a hot topic. Remember that huge hit that JMFJ layed Smyth out with in Colorado? Was anything ever said between them or animosity between them now they are teammates?
Answer: I don’t think it’s a weird question at all. It’s a good question, but at this point it’s clearly water under the bridge. Johnson’s hit on Smyth was brutal, but completely legal, so I imagine Smyth’s only comment to Johnson was to urge him to keep doing it, now that Smyth isn’t his target anymore…
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Oz asked: I hate to rumor monger but on THN, a reputable source, in talking about the impending sale of Tampa, there was mention the Kings were also talking to them about Lecavalier,but the asking price was too high at the moment, very similar the Thrashers talks. Have you heard anything on that front?
Answer: Honestly, I don’t know how to answer that. The Lecavalier stuff is very old, going back to last summer, and there’s nothing new there that I know of. The Kovalchuk stuff, it’s just happening as it happens. As I said the other day, there’s been one offer and one counter, and that’s it.
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Pumpernicholl asked: Rich, at the end of a trip how long does it take typically from the final horn at the end of a game to the moment when the team is stepping on the plane to fly home?
Answer: Sort of depends on how far away the airport is from the arena. The bus typically leaves the arena about 30-35 minutes after the final horn. Some airports are really close and others are quite far.
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Dayman asked: will you be in Vancouver at all for the Olympics?
Answer: Unfortunately, no. Olympic media credentials typically have to be secured years in advance. I know the Kings tried to get me a credential, but I also know, from my years at newspapers, that it’s a very rigid process. The Kings, though, have some great plans to let fans keep track of how the Kings players are doing.
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Good2bKings asked: What does Dean Lomardi mean when he says he’ll look to “improve” the Kings? Did I read somewhere that DL won’t simply look for “upgrades?” What does that mean? With out dropping names, what type of “improvement” do you think Kings fans can expect?
Answer: Well, when Lombardi says he will look to improve the Kings, I assume he means just that, that he will look for trades that will improve the roster, in the short term and/or the long term. I’m not sure what quote you’re referencing on “upgrades,” so I can’t really comment on that. I think it’s safe to say that the Kings, either now or during the summer, would be looking for one “impact” player up front and on defense. As the song says, though, you can’t always get what you want.
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gboi asked: Any updates on Williams’ broken leg? After the olympic break he will have had 8 weeks to recover if I am not mistaken? Can fans expect him back in March sometime?
Answer: No real update. It’s barely been a month. I wouldn’t necessarily say that you can expect him back in March, or even April. He tore up his leg real good (bad). Even if it is healed, remember that there are major conditioning issues. Some people were all over Handzus, two years ago, and Williams, last year, for their play while first coming back from injuries. The idea that the Kings would put Williams out there (if healthy) for a playoff run (or the playoffs) after four months away from the game…I wouldn’t bet the farm on that.
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koho asked: Rich, is flying with the team mandatory for you or just convenience and would you get fined for missing a team flight or do you come and go as you please as long as you make the game?
Answer: I don’t know if I would get fined for missing a flight. If there was ever a situation in which I needed to take a commercial flight, either for work or personal reasons, it would certainly be cleared with the team first. There’s no economic or time-efficiency reason for me to not fly with the team. To vary from that would mean me paying a lot of money to travel commercially, and that just doesn’t make sense, save for an emergency-type situation.
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Skebo asked: Is there really not going to be TV coverage for the Phoenix game the last week of the season on 4/8? This will likely be a extremely critical game, with the Kings fighting for a playoff spot with Phoenix.
Answer: As of now, that’s not scheduled to be a TV game. TWo things: One, I know that, last season, there was talk of adding TV games late in the season if the Kings were still in the playoff race. Two, while that might be a possibility, I don’t know that it has been discussed this season.
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BringBackTheShieldJersey asked: Hey Rich, what was story behind why DaviS Drewiske didn’t play against NJ? TM said a few times that was the plan; he sat Ivanans(!) to allow Purcell to play (since he c/would play more minutes than Ivanans) in the back-to-back. Did they hold him out because of an impending trade
Answer: Yes! Drewiske for Kovalchuk, straight up! I believe the reason there, for Drewiske’s absence, was Jack Johnson. The Kings weren’t 100 percent confident that Johnson could make it through the game. To put another defenseman — Drewiske — out there, who hadn’t played a game in forever, would double the risk. Peter Harrold was there as a backup, but from my perspective, that’s why Drewiske stayed out.
Thanks for the answers Rich….
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Rich,
Judging by the number of major newspapers shutting down across the country/continent/world, it certainly makes sense for you to move from that medium to a purely internet based one.
Have you heard more and more talk around the league about teams adopting what the Kings have done (re: Your position) and creating “Insider” sites of their own?
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How many points do you think it will take to make the playoffs this year?
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http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/31205-Power-Rankings-Dog-days-in-summer.html
Kings ranked 5th after a 5-0 roadie..
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On the Drewiske questions:
That does seem like the most likely answer but I know I’d rather see Drewiske in the lineup than Jones. Jones, besides his scoring touch, is horrible in his own zone. He is definitely a weak spot when he’s in there.
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Have you guys seen Ryan miller’s new team USA goalie mask, it’s pretty cool.
Rich, do you know if Quick will have a new mask made for the Olympics?
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Did you get a chance to talkwith dean about the teams success on the road. Do u think the players feel they should be rewarded for their play and insist on lombardi bringing in a ringer? Do they feel a sense of pride and want to see this thing through themselves?
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Rich, another question for you:
Do the players read your blog? Are they aware of the Kings offer to Atlanta to obtain Kovalchuk? What is the general feeling about that report and trade rumors in general?
Thanks,
Prince
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Are you not allowed to interview referees? In other words, are they “off-limits” to you as a reporter?
Do you take a pre-game nap?
Thanks!
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Hi Rich,
I was wondering if there are any relationships between players on the kings that stand out. e.g. Are there any players on the team who either don’t get along well, or are very close friends?
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Rich,
I don’t think Dean will trade Bernier this season, but if J-Quick keeps up the strong play into next season, I would assume Dean will include him for a superstar. I could see Dean being patient, in terms of trading for a star, for the time he is certain he can afford to trade Bernier. Does this sound plausible, like a Bernier, JJ, Thomas Hickey for an unnamed star?
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@It’s Over Johnny!!…. I remember hearing something in the lines of Quick having his Team USA goalie mask shipped to one of the stadiums on this past road trip cause he was anxious. Then again I could be wrong.
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Rich,
It seems to me that the 6 game win streak coincides with Lombardi publicly announcing his intention to try and “improve” the team, as well as his now confirmed “interest” in Kovalchuk. My question is this: from what you have observed of DL’s management style, do you think it’s possible that he’s less interested in actually getting Kovalchuk than he is in getting a 6 game win streak out of a bunch of guys who don’t like the idea of this unit being split up? Would he embellish the likelihood of a trade to scare his own players into picking up their play?
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Rich, two questions. First question is from my wife. She wants to know if the players bring their wives on the road trips (I’m sure this is somehow related to the Tiger incident). My question to you is do you think Kovalchuk is the key to beating San Jose and Chicago in the playoffs, or even better, a cup playoff with Pittsburgh or Washington? Those four teams have high powered offenses. Do we try to match their skill level or add a skilled checker to try to shut them down?
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Thanks, Rich, for all you do.
U DA MAN!
Question:
What would it take to get a Viewing Party in Bakersfield? I know there are plenty of hard-core fans here in the South Central Valley who would love to get together with Kings Ice Girls, etc., and maybe even Rich Hammond (If not a viewing party–I know your commitments).
What would it take to get an Ontario Viewing Party? Perhaps this could be done in conjunction with a Reign-Condors game…
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LOL! Oh Be CAREFUL Rich….
Remember….HUMOR is not very far from RUMOR, especially if a certain site gets a hold of it.
BTW, I’d make that trade…
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Hey rich,
Are there any Kings that have accounts with Twitter?
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I think I am beginning to hate Ilya Kovalchuk. Its like that song that you once liked, but it got overplayed and now all you want to do is get it out of your head.
JJ trade mongers:
SOOO many people are including JJ in trade speculation. I thought it was interesting discussion yesterday on TSN about the Phaneuf trade. They compared his situation to Pronger, and I will make the same comparison. Everyone is ragging on JJ and Dion about being big huge, mean talented guys, who have trouble on D, and who make big mistakes. They said the exact same things about Chris Pronger, which was ultimately why he got traded out of Hartford (amongst other reasons).
Do you really want to let go of a potential Chris Pronger?
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Thanks as always for doing this Rich.
As best as I can recall Quick was never touted as a possible #1 goalie prospect coming up. How worried do you think the Kings are that this all might somehow fall apart for Quick? Last year Mason in Columbus and Thomas in Boston had great seasons and this year they’ve both struggled. Are the Kings concerned something like this could happen with Quick?
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Rich,
Sorry to ask another question, but I can’t help myself with this one. Do you think DL would be interested in picking up Nick Boynton off waivers from the ducks? He would definitely be an upgrade over Jones, Harrold, and Drewiski, not to mention the size and toughness he would add to the blue line. What do you think?
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Rich, do you room alone on the road? Or are you bunking with some other King personnel?
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Question for the tough guys…Do players like Ivanans, Green, Simmonds ever practice on their fighting skills, you know sparr with one another during practice or on their own?
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I can see the headline now:
“Kovalchuk to LA (e4) for Davis Drewiskie – LAKings Insider Rich Hammond reports from his blog that The Los Angeles Kings have traded Davis Drewiskie straight up for Ilya Kovalchuk in an insane deal that my other sources say involved 3 bottles of Jack Daniels, a stripper pole, 2 tubs of Crisco, and a photographer. Sources say negotiations went deep into the night after the amazing win by the Kings in NJ and that Dean Lombardi held some serious barganing power after visiting a 1 hour photo @ about 3AM. Originally, Don Waddell was asking for the Legendary Juraj Mikus to which Dean replied “Don, you would need 10 Kovalchuks for my boy Juraj and even then, I’d want your next 5 first rounders with them.” Needless to say that Don settled for Davis Drewiskie. Big Thanks again to Rich Hammond for first reporting this breaking story.”
Check that site in the next 4 hours and see if something like this pops up. Of course, if we start seeing it on TSN and ESPN, then there’s a bigger problem than we thought. At least it would be a positive for your credibility up to this point.
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To add to patuna’s comment, what is your game day like? What do you do to prepare for each game? Do you do anything different for Home and Road games? Superstitions?
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Van, I’ve not been a big fan of JJ this year, but I still think he’s a work in progress. I’m not on the trade JJ bandwagon just yet. It seems as though the Kings were much more delicate with their handling of Doughty. Doughty has always been paired with a disciplined, stay at home type like OD and Scud. I’d like to see JJ paired with someone other than Jones. Jones could make anyone look bad. If I’m TM, I’m pairing JJ with Green or OD.
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Great stuff Cynic
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Rich, my question to you is: at this point in the season, throwing current seedings out the window—which 1st round matchups would you most like to see in the West (and East).
Also, which matchup do you think would favor the Kings the most and which would cause the most problems?
Thanks Rich!
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Cynic……. you’re funny! What an imagination.
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Rich,
ESPN has the Kings ranked 5th in their power rankings. Cbssportsline.com has them 6th. TSN.ca has them 8th. Where wuld you put the Kings in your Team Rankings?
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I can’t take credit for the imagination, I’ve read plenty of stuff similar to this over at ‘That’ site. LOL!
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I’ve asked a few times, but there’s about a million posts on this Blog
We had that Live Chat on the day of the Calgary game right before Christmas. Was that a flop, or will we see that at some point again?
I know that some Goalies have a special reason with the design on their masks, or have some sort of special image or Marking, Does JQ have anything special about his Mask? Also, I’m curious who had his mask done, was it designed by the a Kings Staffer, or is it his idea?
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What do you think of the bottom ranks of the Kings forwards? Ivanans, Segal, Moller, Purcell, Harrold (sometimes)?
Are the they the right guys for the role?
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Rich- do you know of any odd superstitions with the players or staff? All of the fans i know have at least a couple “rituals” that need to be performed before the first face off
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Thank you Cynic for the best post of the day…loved the one hr photo line!
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Rich -
This question was asked to you in the Kovalchuk thread but you never answered. Without naming any names and knowing what you know about the back and forth offers between LA & Atlanta, what is your opinion of the offers? Was Atlanta’s way too much or was Lombardi’s counter offer way too little? Or were they both reasonable? We’re all interested in your opinion on these matters so I thought I’d see what you thought…
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I never ask any questions, but I love reading these. I am sure most fans do. Just another great thing with this Blog Rich. As I said in the other thread, you are doing a great job and any fears people had about things changing in a bad way when the team hired you should all be gone. All we are getting now is more information more often and it makes following this team even more enjoyable.
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Don’t know if this has been asked, but what’s with Ivanans lately? He has been forechecking well, only falling down sometimes, and barely fighting (although that’s not all that unusual). Did TM have a talk with him about his game, did not being picked for the olympics affect him? If no insider information, what are your thoughts?
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Aloha Rich, two questions.
One, is it safe to say will see a trade this year before the playoffs? the reason I say this is every successful G.M. is never ok with the state of his team. There is always holes that need to be filled and good G.M. do their best to fill them. Some people on this sight get angry over people posting questions about trades. I cant speak for the rest but I do it because I believe with a piece or two, we can go as far as we like in these playoffs.
Two, I have been a fan since 1985. that5s the year i met a couple of Smock cousin’s in saugus where I was living at the time. Question is, have you seen an increase in African americans since simmers has arrived. before it gets racial in here im black(papolo here in hawaii) and i always wondered why more of us didnt support the kings.I know its kind of an awkward subject to touch but maybe u can email me an answer.
As always kudo’s Rich and to all of you who post on this site, you really make it worthwhile to log on this site and follow kings hockey here in Oahu. If anyone comes out call me, round of golf at Coral Creek on me.
Aloha
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Rich,
Any chance to make LAKingsInsider.com mobile-web and mobile phone friendly like the old Daily News blog site? Thanks.
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as this young team has begun to jell i say there is no way you trade simmer or jmfj…. these guys will be long term assets. we do need another scoring threat, but not at that price. kovalchuk as a free agent sounds better than trading guys like that. that simmonds is really showing his skill set along with a lot of grit. deadmarsh could be alive and well in wayne’s body.
oahu, i’m black too… i’ve been a kings fan since the “off broadway line” (true fans look that up)… we do exist. LOL
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What LLtK said ^^^ Mobile phone friendly!!!
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Rich,
Thank you for taking the time to do this. My question is more of a general one regarding injured players: what role do players that are injured for a long time (ie Justin Williams) have with the team? Do they show up for team meetings or come to the games (at least at home)? Are they required to come? Or is it more personal preference? What involvement (if any) does Justin Williams have with the team currently?
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Is there a way the Kings can bring in an outside motivational speaker like the Dodgers did during their World Series wins?
In the case of the Dodgers, they got so motivated by Don Rickles that they won the series so they wouldn’t have to hear his motivational speeches again.
Could the Kings spring for Rickles to be that motivational speaker so we can finally win a CUP?
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